Lyon on opportunity in Buffalo: 'I'm going to be the best version of myself' 

Alex Lyon has one simple expectation when it comes to his role on the Buffalo Sabres.

“I’m going to be the best version of myself I possibly can be, I’m going to be the most competitive version of myself I possibly can be,” Lyon said Tuesday, one week after joining Buffalo on a two-year deal. “And we’re gonna see where the chips fall after that.”

The Sabres signed Lyon at the start of free agency, adding internal competition and a veteran presence to the goaltending depth chart alongside Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi.

It’s a similar role to the one occupied last season by James Reimer – who, coincidentally, has been a significant influence on Lyon’s career. Lyon credited the positive feedback he received from Reimer – as well as from former goaltender Dustin Tokarski – with helping inform his decision to join the Sabres.

Perhaps as significantly, Lyon benefitted from Reimer’s even-keeled approach when they were goalie partners in Detroit.

“I’ve learned a lot from him and he was probably the most even human in the world,” Lyon said. “He doesn’t get high or too low. So, I try to emulate that a bit.”

Such is Lyon’s approach to his new situation in Buffalo, where he figures to compete for playing time with the 26-year-old Luukkonen, who started a career-high 55 NHL games last season, and the 23-year-old Levi, who is coming off an All-Star campaign in the AHL.

Lyon – 32 years old and entering his 10th professional season – said he aims to support both goalies while battling for starts.

“My aspiration is always to play as many games as possible and wins as many games as possible,” he said. “I think that’s a good mentality to have. You have to be ultra-competitive in the goalie room but also extremely supportive at the same time. It’s a really fine balance to strike but I think that’s a strength, for sure, that I have. That’s how I approach it.”

Lyon’s philosophies on goaltender – staying even-keeled, hypercompetitive, and supportive of your fellow netminder – have been forged through an up-and-down career that stems back to his upbringing in Baudette, Minn.

As late as his junior year of high school, Lyon saw Division III hockey and a more traditional post-grad life in his future. A strong senior season paved the way to the USHL, followed by three successful years at Yale. He signed with Philadelphia as an undrafted free agent in 2016, confident that his success would carry into professional hockey.

Lyon spent the bulk of his five seasons with the Flyers organization playing for their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley. An uncomfortable reality sunk in when he hit free agency in the summer of 2021 – he was fighting for his professional life.

He signed a one-year, two-way deal with Carolina and spent most of the next season playing for the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. It was there he first adopted the simplified, small-picture approach that’s carried him ever since.

Namely, he focused on being the best AHL goaltender he could be and leaned into his competitiveness. The Wolves won the Calder Cup that season, with Lyon posting a shutout in the deciding game.

“I think I just found another level of desperation that I needed to play with, that I needed to train with, that I needed to have in my attitude,” Lyon said. “You kind of just understand that you’re fighting for your life every day. Maybe I took that for granted a little bit when I was younger, which I think most young players probably go through that progression.”

Lyon’s NHL career took off from there. He spent 2022-23 with Florida, where he played nine of the Panthers’ last 12 regular-season games (including a crucial 38-save win over the Sabres) and then appeared in four playoff contests.

He’s started a combined 74 games these past two seasons with Detroit, his first full-time foray into the grind of the NHL schedule.

“I felt almost like a rookie again,” he said. “Especially that first year in Detroit, I was still learning a lot. But I’m just a day-to-day guy. Be very competitive on a day-to-day basis, that’s kind of the crux of my beliefs. And so, I just continue to try to bring that.”

Lyon will bring all of that experience to Buffalo, where his only expectation will be to compete as hard as he can. Every single day.

“You have to live in the moment,” Lyon said. “You have to be accepting of the results, but you have to lay your life on the line for 82 games. And that's just the reality of it, and then see where the chips fall. But that will give you the best chance.”